Secrets and Practices of the Freemasons: Sacred Mysteries, Rituals and Symbols Revealed - Jean-Louis de Biasi 2011
Key to the Symbols: Creative Visualization
Principles of Practice
Visualization is a natural process, and it is one of the main elements of a good initiatic practice. As explained in the section above, we must give life and vitality to the visible symbols we use, in order to create an effective ritual. This spiritual or symbolic action begins inwardly. The creative power of the mind allows us to immediately begin this training. Knowledge of this process was protected by the theurgic schools during the period of the dark days. Later, a few Masons were initiated in both traditions, keeping alive both the Masonic aspects and the applications of these esoteric practices. Interestingly, visualization is the subject of a strange paradox. This function of one’s brain is completely spontaneous, yet its control is a very important aspect of initiatic work. We must learn how to use visualization effectively in our initiatic practices, as well as in daily life.
The ability to visualize comes from the mind’s ability to think about things and focus attention on them. This means that visualization is not the result of emptying our mind, as we do in some other meditative practices. It is the result of focusing on a single image. Because the brain does this naturally, we can legitimately say that this ability is a natural one. All day long, our mind is busy thinking about the different things we deal with in our daily life. The imagination processes our perceptions, feelings, and ideas so that we may work, think, and speak. Generally, this process is unconscious. In fact, most of the time this invisible process acts freely, without your control. However, sometimes the unconscious mind gets focused on negative things and acts without conscious intention, which can produce some very negative consequences. Psychosomatic diseases are manifestations of this inner process, which can act very rapidly and destructively on the body. Insomnia and stomach ulcers are two common physical consequences of this destructive process.
By contrast, we can also imagine a constructive and powerful unconscious mind that is readily able to generate energy and optimism. However, the problem is that, in either case, whether the outcome is positive or negative, we have no control over the unconscious imaginative process. Even so, both outcomes show us its power. Through observation of this process and its results, we realize an important lesson: focus is the key to success. Thus, creative visualization is an important skill that is the outcome of the ability to focus.
As an initial definition, I might say that creative visualization is the process of consciously focusing the mind on a goal, with the help of the will and desire. However, I must emphasize that this skill must be learned; it requires special training. The control of this ability will be a very important step in the understanding of inner phenomena and the invisible processes of rituals. In any case, visualization is the result of a voluntary action: the intention to focus on a specific goal.
During the period of training, the initiate must constantly control his visualizations. But it is important here not to misunderstand what I mean by the word visualization. This concept is easily misunderstood. Most people assume that the term is restricted to a visual mental representation. Therefore, new students often presume that the goal is to create a kind of mental photography, as if they were looking at a printed picture. This is not the case at all, and it would be wrong to begin with that impression. In fact, we already know how to make mental pictures, but we are generally accustomed to reducing our perceptions to a single sense: vision. Of course, not everyone has sight as their predominant sense, but it is generally predominant in today’s world. In this regard, it might be helpful to think about the way that a person who was born blind visualizes. His or her visual representations would have to be replaced by a combination of other perceptions, such as smell, taste, touch, etc.
Understanding this principle allows us to begin to recognize how you we can bring our imagination under control. The initial step is identical to the act of thinking of someone or some place that is far distant from you. The subject of your thoughts must be a person or place that is already well known to you. You do this all the time without any effort at all. If you stop reading for a moment and try it, you will see how easy it is. If you are at the office, or in the living room, think about your bedroom, or think about your wife, husband, friend, child, or pet you love. The result is immediate. You don’t have to do anything special. You have been doing this all of your life. This is the beginning of taking control over your visualization, which is the foundation of everything you must accomplish to make progress in the esoteric and initiatic way. This ability is real and you use it all the time. Of course, this is only the first step, and you must not assume that you are already using creative visualization. However, becoming conscious of this ability is the only way to be able to make progress on this path.
Creative visualization is the cornerstone of real esoteric work and its control is essential. In this text, I will give you some basic principles so that you can begin the work. Please be aware that, to make any substantial progress, you will need to begin supervised individual and group work.
The next principle you need to understand is the duration of your focus. You are well aware that, when you focus on a person or place, the duration of time you maintain this focus is generally very short. It is very difficult to maintain the mental representation for an extended period. That is why the first step in developing control over your imagination is to increase the duration of your focus. This means that you must be able to stay focused on one specific idea (one mental representation), and you must hold it in your mind for a while. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t able to hold a precise representation, in great detail, for an extended period. The goal here is to select one idea and then to hold on to it.
Symbols are very interesting tools for this kind of work. It is generally easier to hold a specific simple symbol in your mind, such as a triangle, a square, or a compass. You don’t need to hold a photo of the symbol in your mind, just the idea.
As you practice, you will notice that the representation progressively increases in complexity, with increasing details (whether they are visual or not), and these will cluster together, like bugs around a lightbulb. You may see more details, hear related sounds, smell associated smells, etc. All of these sensations will increase the power of your inner representation, and this will help you to hold it in your mind a little longer. After you have worked on this exercise at several practice sessions, you will start noticing that you are more focused and that your visualizations are much clearer. Moreover, these exercises will improve your other abilities, making them more powerful and effective.
Another key to making progress is to use your curiosity. It is necessary to look very carefully at the details of the mental representation. If you are thinking of someone, you can imagine his or her eyes, hair, clothes, etc. However, if you try to force yourself to do this, you will easily become bored and not wish to continue. If you become curious about the details of the picture, you will see more and enjoy the process more. When you began these exercises, perhaps it was not easy for you to look at the mental picture. But when you engage your curiosity, your progress becomes very different than it was when you first started. Curiosity is a very important ally, and the foundation of good apprenticeship.
Relaxation is another good ally and it is important to be very relaxed whenever you start a practice session. It is quite impossible to continue this kind of training without the ability to relax completely. In that regard, you do not have to adopt any special system; any method you like is fine, as long as you feel comfortable with it. However, it is critical to employ a natural process, one that you are easily engaged in. Relaxation must become a natural ability, one you can invoke whenever you need it. The position of your body is not an important matter. Feel free to choose a position, and then to change it as needed. Test different positions and different places so that you develop a feel for what works best for you. If you set up all your practice sessions at the same time in the same place and then there are disruptions to your routine, relaxing will be difficult. It is important to be able to use these practices everywhere, and at any time the need arises.
For now, don’t worry about the duration of this practice. If you are part of a group training, just follow the group. If you are working alone, stay focused on the specific visualization you have chosen for a while. Do this once per day at the beginning. It is better to have a powerful and short concentration session, than a long session that you find it difficult to complete. After a few weeks, it will be fine to define a specific time for your training, and then to relax and train yourself to visualize during those sessions.
The last logical point about understanding visualization is the subject you choose to focus on. Even if this practice seems interesting to do because it increases your ability to be more focused in your daily life, you must recognize that these exercises are aimed at a higher goal. Of course, it is interesting to use these exercises to picture your friends and family, and beautiful places you have visited. The immediate success is very reinforcing. Yet, these uses of the practice you are learning are not as exciting as the ability to visualize the spiritual world. In fact, the ability to visualize the inner world, the spiritual plane, is directly connected to all occult and esoteric work. I am not speaking here about something strictly religious or “paranormal.” I am talking about the use of an inner ability, such as visualization, and the effect of the correct use of this process on our spiritual body. Every initiate to the mysteries knows about the invisible dimension that many religions describe as a body of light, an aura. Eastern mystics also know about this dimension, and their writings talk about the chakras, etc. All these dimensions of the body are generally dormant. But when an inner work is consciously undertaken, something occurs at this level. The ancient initiates spoke of inspiration, of spiritual awareness. All these ways of describing our spiritual body are correct, and the consequences of understanding these elements are very important for our inner and spiritual development. Of course all these aspects are a part of a traditional Masonic method that comes from the Hermetic inheritance: the Masonic meditation.
As you will see, once you have been practicing these exercises for a while, details that you have not consciously introduced will manifest themselves into your mental representation, and this can include symbolic connections, spontaneous understanding, etc. This phenomenon is the result of regular and conscious training. The esoteric work described in the last paragraph will help you to make significant progress to a step of awareness, which is one of the goals connected to an authentic initiatic way like Freemasonry.